The last few years have been nice and silent as far as outspoken propagandist movies parading as documentaries has gone. Everyone knew that silence would come to an end eventually, as Michael Moore got closer and closer to the release of his expose on the health care industry. That may not be the only upcoming film Moore is putting out however. According to Variety, portions of a different project by Moore, titled The Great ’04 Slacker Uprising, are being screened at the upcoming Toronto Film Festival.
Little is known about the movie other than the fact that Moore filmed it during a sixty-city tour of college campuses (among other venues) during the ’04 Presidential Elections. Although it was known Moore made the trip and recorded footage, there had been no work of what was being done with it until now.
The Festival blog is referring to the film as “a scrappy road trip movie” that shows “the birth of a new political generation” but classifies the film as still in progress. It’s likely that what is shown at the Toronto Film Festival won’t amount to more than a teaser. But a teaser for what?
Speculation is that Moore may be trying for another Fahrenheit 9/11, trying to sway political sentiments before another big election. The problem with that is that Fahrenheit didn’t really accomplish anything. Sure, there was a grand awakening of the Bush administration. But that was followed by a grand awakening of Moore’s filmic manipulation, and the election results didn’t change due to his film. If Moore’s titled Uprising had actually occurred I might buy into this movie, but, short of trying to convince audiences that the Democrats won in ’04, I don’t see the point. Will voters fall for his antics a second time allowing him to sway public opinion? Doubtful at best, but I guess we’ll see.
